


The Boyf-Riend That I'd Kinda Be Into

by aeolians



Series: Be More Prom [1]
Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Bad At Titles, I'm Not Ashamed, M/M, Post-Squip, Prom, Realistic teenaged emotions that are messy and not perfect? In fanfic? GROUNDBREAKING., Secret Santa, Teen Angst, Teenage Dorks, Teenage Drama, but without the actual prom, one-sided Expensive Headphones if you squint, possible future for RichJake
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-30
Updated: 2017-12-30
Packaged: 2019-02-24 04:03:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13205526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aeolians/pseuds/aeolians
Summary: Michael has been in love with his best friend longer than he can remember and could never imagine having the guts to ask Jeremy to their senior year prom. But when Rich intervenes and makes him, Michael needs to find the words to say before he loses the nerve.But Rich is impatient, so it's only natural that he goes to Jeremy to drop some hints and make them realize their mutual feelings even faster, right?Teenaged emotions are weird and messy, but sometimes it helps to have someone push you in the right direction.





	1. Player 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [paradoxicalspecificity](https://archiveofourown.org/users/paradoxicalspecificity/gifts).



> Set one year after the events of the musical, just as the senior prom begins to loom on the horizon for the Squip Squad.
> 
> Done for the [Boyf Riends 2017 Secret Santa](https://boyfriendssecretsanta.tumblr.com). See end for full notes.

Michael Mell had a problem.

Well, let's be real, he had _lots_ of problems. Many of them over the past year stemmed directly from his best friend, Jeremy. Between Jeremy's crush on Christine leading to Jeremy swallowing an evil floppy disc that tried to take over the school to Christine and Jeremy breaking up and everything in between, it'd been a long year to be best friends with Jeremy.

Strike that: Michael Mell didn't have _a_ problem, he had one very specifically _Jeremy Heere_ -shaped problem. As awesome as he was, Jeremy could be as oblivious as a rock. And at this point, on top of everything else, Michael wasn't even sure if it was a blessing or a curse that Jeremy couldn't even tell that his best friend since elementary school was crushing on him.

Both, Michael decided. It was definitely both a blessing _and_ a goddamn curse.

Michael groaned just thinking about it, chewing the piece of gum that was causing his internal anxiety as his head rested against the cool metal of his locker.

"Yo, what up, Headphones?"

"Hey, Rich," Michael monotoned, not even bothering to open his eyes and look over at the shorter boy. Ever since the play last year when the whole cast had been Squipped, the whole "Squip Squad," as Michael called them, had grown immediately close to Jeremy. Which wasn't surprising, since all of the Squips still inside them were linked back to Jeremy's on some level that Michael didn't quite understand. But it meant that, nowadays, Michael didn't get as much time to chill with his Player 2 as he was used to.

Rich was the one outlier in the Squip Squad. Having disabled his Squip so spectacularly seemed to have well and truly disconnected him from the 'shiny, happy hive mind,' something he had been fighting against off-and-on for months before succeeding at Jake's Halloween party. Cut off from the other Squips since his had never synced up to them, it wasn't long before resident bisexual Rich Goranski and the not-so-closeted and Squipless gay Michael Mell started hanging out while their respective best friends hung out with the others.

Looking at Michael, Rich knew immediately what was bothering the other teen. "Jeremy again?"

"Yeah," Michael said with a sigh, finally opening his locker door to pull out what he needed. Sarcastically, he added, "How could you tell?"

"Man, if you pined for him any more, I'd be putting ornaments on you at Christmas. Starting with two bulbs, because you clearly don't have the balls to talk to your own best friend about your goddamn feelings."

Michael rolled his eyes, shutting his locker and turning to start down the hall to the library.

"Anyway," Rich continued, falling into step beside the taller boy. "What'd he do this time? Let me guess, he said something nerdy and you thought it was adorable," Rich guessed, his lisp becoming more prominent the more over-dramatic he got, teasing Michael. "Or better yet, he tripped on his size 14 feet and flailed about, and it was cute as fuck?"

Rolling his eyes again, Michael couldn't help but smile as Rich pressed on.

"Hey! You know what they say about big feet . . ." Rich said, trailing off and waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Oh my _God_ , Rich, no," Michael said with a pained laugh.

"Oh my God, Rich, _yes_ ," the other boy shot back, a devilish grin nearly splitting his face as he threw a fist into the air.

"Dude, you're ridiculous. And insane."

"And charming and totally available," Rich added with a nod.

Entering the library together, both boys made their way over to a partially hidden table near the back between the biography and science sections. Whenever Michael and Rich had study hall at the same time, they had made a habit of coming to this table to pass the time in peace.

After a few minutes of chewing his gum, listening to Lemon Demon through his headphones and only half paying attention to the chemistry chapter he was supposed to be reading, Michael felt Rich’s foot nudge his leg under the table to gain his attention.

“Huh? Oh,” Michael said as he looked up; it was obvious that Rich had been trying to get his attention for a while. Slipping his headphones off, Michael smiled apologetically. “What’s up?"

Rich leveled him with one of his best _Are you shitting me?_ looks. “Dude. You’ve been reading the same page over and over. Beanpole's obviously still on your mind. Spill."

Groaning, Michael should have realized that there was no escaping Rich's one-track determination. Closing his book in resignation, he reached into the pocket of his hoodie to retrieve a crumpled silver wrapper.

"A gum wrapper? What's the deal with _a gum wrapper_?"

"It's what's _on_ the wrapper, dumbass," Michael said, dropping the offending bit of paper and aluminum on the table between them. Watching Rich pick it up and read the writing on the inside would have been amusing if it wasn't so relatable. With his eyes that wide and his mouth pressed in such a firm line, Rich looked a bit like Kermit the Frog.

"Oh shit, dude."

"Yep."

"And Jeremy gave you this gum, didn't he?" Seeing Michael's confirming, dejected nod, Rich grimaced. "Dork always has gum in that backpack of his. Damn, dude," he said, shaking his head as he passed it back to Michael.

Looking down at it, Michael re-read the sentence inside of the wrapper for the umpteenth time. It was one of those wrappers that had either a joke or a dare on them. This one, of course, was a fucking dare.

" _Dare: Confess to your crush that you like them!_ "

Michael was in twelfth grade, god damn it. A fucking _gum wrapper_ shouldn't be making him sulk so much. But Jeremy's face had been so close to his, trying to read it at the same time as Michael, and Jeremy would have immediately started goading him. For the past few months, Jeremy had been suspecting that Michael might have a crush on someone and had been trying to subtlely figure it out. Which, for Jeremy, meant zero subtlety was used at all.

“You gotta tell him."

“What? No way, man,” Michael said, blowing off the idea.

“What’d you got to lose?"

Staring at Rich incredulously, Michael shot back, “Uh, my best friend? I already lost him last year,” he added in a softer voice. “I don’t want to push him away again, not right after I got him back."

Rich’s face softened at that, completely understanding. In the silence that followed, Rich reached across the table and took the gum wrapper again.

“Why not ask him to prom?"

“What?!"

From out of nowhere, the librarian, Miss Paroo, poked her head around the shelving to reprimand them.

“Please lower your voice, Mr. Mell. And Richard,” she said, turning to the other boy in a tired tone that indicated she dealt with Rich for more than she liked to. “ _Please_ stop leaving gum under the library tables."

“It’s not me, Miss Paroo, I swear,” Rich said, purposefully making his lisp worse in an effort to seem innocent.

“Mmhm. See that I don’t catch you doing it or it’ll be detention."

“Scout’s Honor, Miss P."

As she turned and left, Rich flipped her off with a smile before turning back to Michael. “Anyway, just ask Jeremy to prom. But be smart about it. Ask him if he wants to go, and if he’s totally against the idea, you can turn it into just going as bros. Make it seem like he misunderstood you. Or if you have to balls to tell him you like him in the sexual way—" Michael groaned, putting his head down on his folded arms on the table.

“Dude, shut the hell up and listen to me,” Rich said, more serious. Taking a breath, he continued. “If Jeremy shoots you down and you can’t even go as bros like you have to every homecoming ever . . . why not go to prom with me?"

Michael whipped his head up at that.

“What?"

“Fuck you, I’m not saying it again,” Rich said, crossing his arms and . . . was Rich blushing?

“Rich, dude . . . that’s really sweet."

As Rich looked up at him, Michael could see something like hope on Rich’s face.

“Yeah? Yeah, I guess so. But, I’m just saying . . . if you wanted to . . . I mean, the chances of me ever being able to go with a guy are slim to none, so. Why should we be alone at the dance if neither of us have a date, right?"

Michael had to agree with that. If nothing else, it was practical.

“Or,” Rich continued, “You could tell Jeremy how you feel and have an amazing night with the guy you love instead of spending the evening with me as two guys mooning over their best friends."

“What do you— holy shit, you like Jake, don’t you?"

If Rich wasn’t blushing before, he certainly was now. “Shut the fuck up, Headphones. If you so much as breathe a word of this—"

"Chill, Rich. It’s fine.” A moment of silence passed. Then, “So. You like Jake. I like Jeremy. Neither of them has a prom date yet."

Rich’s eyes went wide, realizing where this was going. “No. _Fuck_ no."

“Yes,” Michael said, grinning. "If I have to tell Jeremy and ask him out to prom, you have to do the same with Jake. Neither of us are going to get anywhere if we don’t, for better or worse."

Now it was Rich’s turn to groan as he tossed the crinkled gum wrapper back to the other teenager. “ _Fine_. But if this blows up for both of us, my offer of prom still stands, nerd."

Smiling, Michael nodded. As the two of them gathered up their things to exit the library, Michael spit his gum into his hand and pressed it under the table, sharing a devious grin with Rich before the two of them headed out.


	2. Player 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prom is coming up, and it seems like everyone but Jeremy has someone they want to ask to prom. But with a little push from Rich, maybe Jeremy might realize he had someone he could ask all along.

Looking around the lunch table, Jeremy frowned when he realized Michael wasn’t there. It wasn’t uncommon for his best friend to skip lunch with them, but Jeremy noticed it every time it happened and he understood only too well why he wasn’t there. The “Squip Squad,” as Michael called them, were Jeremy’s friends. Not Michael’s. Sure, everyone liked Michael well enough and hung out with him and Jeremy, but there was definitely a difference between their loose friendship with Michael and the close bond they had with Jeremy post-Squips.

Still preoccupied with thoughts of Michael, Jeremy only half-listened to his friends as they talked about prom. For the most part, it was just Chloe and Brooke talking excitedly about what’d they’d wear and making pre-prom plans while Jake talked quietly to Rich.

Personally, Jeremy was absolutely clueless as to what to do for prom. In the past, he and Michael would go to the homecoming dances together every year without fail. But this was _prom_. After the events of the play last year, he had completely skipped his junior prom. But this was his last chance to go to one, and he couldn’t be the one guy standing on the sides by himself, not now that most of his friends were sure to have dates themselves.

Anyway, most of his friends probably already had plans. That, or he had spectacularly ruined his chances last year while under the Squip’s influence.

Brooke? No way way could he ask her to the prom after the Squip made him lead her along when they dated last year.

Chloe? Nope, he couldn’t do that to Brooke. Sure, they were all friends, but on some level that’d seem needlessly cruel, right?

Jenna? No, she had already announced that she planned on happily going solo and was okay being the designated driver for the group afterwards.

Christine? _Definitely not_.

Looking down at the other end of the table to where Christine was talking about clothes with Jenna, Jeremy couldn’t help but smile.

“Getting ready for prom is just like a play,” Jenna was pointing out. “You do your makeup in a special way, you do your hair up, you make sure your costume for the night’s performance is perfect and then you kill it on the dance floor stage."

Seeing Christine’s excitement over viewing the prom like a play reminded Jeremy just why he had been so into her. If they were still dating, sure, of course he’d ask her to prom. But both of them had decided that they’d be better off as friends when they broke it off, and they’d been happy to remain friends even if at times there were some awkward moments.

And asking Christine to prom would result in countless awkward moments for days after. Nope. Not happening.

“How about you, Jere?"

“Huh?” Jeremy blinked, looking over to Jake. He had totally zoned out thinking about prom and how not to look like a loser by going without a date. “Sorry, what?"

“You gonna ask anyone out to prom? Got anyone in mind?"

Before Jeremy could even answer, both Chloe and Brooke snapped their heads in his direction, eagerly waiting for an answer. They might be his friends now—even after all that happened when he was Squipped—but they’d never let the chance for gossip slip by and who goes to prom with who was top gossip priority now.

“If you don’t have anyone in mind, I’m sure there’s gotta be someone we could think of for you,” Chloe supplied.

“Yeah,” Brooke chimed in, nodding in agreement. “I mean, I think Chlo and I are just gonna get ready together and stop by Pinkberry on the way to prom. We always stop at Pinkberry before a school dance; it’s, like, our thing."

“But I’m sure someone’s gotta be available to go with you,” Chloe quickly added earnestly.

“Oh, I don’t know—"

“Dude, why not ask out Madeline? She’s always been pretty willing,” Jake suggested, elbowing Rich with a smirk. Jeremy couldn’t help but notice that Chloe rolled her eyes at the suggestion.

“I’m pretty sure she’s going with Dustin Kropp, actually,” Brooke said. “So if you see him near the punch bowl, get a cup quickly before the chaperones realize he’s spiked it."

Rich swallowed a bite a food and looked at Brooke. “Are you kidding? They’ll be watching Dustin like a goddamn hawk. It’d be a miracle if he even gets inside without being patted down for flasks."

From there, the conversation moved on, letting Jeremy let out a sigh of relief. He was glad to have the focus off him, but he couldn’t stop thinking about what Chloe had said. There had to be _someone_ out there for him . . . right?

———————

After school, Jeremy was at his locker when he saw Rich slide smoothly into the space beside him.

“Heeeey, tall ass, what’s up?"

“Uh, nothing?” Jeremy looked around to see if any of their friends were with him only to find it was just Rich. Closing his locker, Jeremy shouldered his backpack and turned to Rich. “What’s u—"

“Good. We need to talk,” Rich said, cutting Jeremy off as he grabbed his arm and dragged him back through the hallway.

“Hey, what are you . . . Rich, I gotta catch the bus—"

“You’re a senior, Jere. Why the hell are you riding a bus? Anyway, you can walk home, you don’t live that far. C’mon,” Rich said, finally letting go and disappearing around the corner.

Sighing, Jeremy adjusted the straps of his backpack and followed Rich through the halls. A few minutes later and the boys were outside, making their way towards the bleachers by the baseball diamond.

“Okay, Rich,” Jeremy said once they had reached their destination. “What the hell is all this about? What couldn’t you just say at my locker?"

“Just . . . hear me out, ‘kay?"

Jeremy nodded hesitantly, completely unsure about where this was headed. The last time Rich had gotten Jeremy alone to talk to him was last year in the boy’s bathroom and . . . well, Jeremy and Rich knew all too well how _that_ had gone for everyone.

“Okay. Let’s just say that there’s . . . a guy, and I kinda want to ask him to prom."

“Okaaay,” Jeremy said, completely not expecting, well, that. “I mean, yeah, that’s great, I guess. Seriously, good for you."

“I said _want_ to ask to prom, dumbass, not that I _have_ asked him to prom,” Rich pointed out. “Let’s just say this guy is really hot and kinda perfect, and I’ve no fucking clue how to ask him. Hell, I don’t know if he’d be interested in going with another guy, let alone _me_."

Jeremy looked at Rich, and it was like seeing him for the first time post-Squip all over again. Sure, he’d been pretty vocal about being bi over the past year and had embraced it, but Jeremy suddenly realized that Rich had never actively shown interest in anyone at all since last year.

“Sooo . . . you came to _me_ to ask what to do? I’d think Brooke or Chloe would have better ideas, Rich."

“Telephone, telegraph, tele-Chloe,” Rich deadpanned, looking at him like Jeremy was a complete idiot.

"Well, why not Jake, then? He’s your best friend, right?"

Rich shoved both of his hands in the pockets of his cargo shorts and looked off to the side blankly. And then it dawned on Jeremy.

“Holy shit, you’re talking about Jake!"

In less than two seconds, Rich’s fist went from his pocket to socking Jeremy hard on the arm.

“Ow! Hey, what was—"

“Shut the hell up, beanpole,” Rich gritted out. “I swear to god, you and Michael deserve each other, both of you are loud as fuck when it comes to blurting that out."

That threw Jeremy off. “Wait, wha—? Michael knows?"

“Obviously, dumbass, otherwise I wouldn’t have said it."

“But how long has he known? He never said anything."

“Of course not, because he knows how to keep a secret. He’s pretty good at keeping things under wraps, y’know. Including his own feelings."

“Huh? No he’s not, he tells me everything."

Raising an eyebrow, Rich didn’t comment.

“Dude, do you know something I don’t? Is something—"

“Gotta go, dude,” Rich interrupted, turning and walking away. Looking over his shoulder, he yelled back, “Maybe you should just take Michael to prom! It’d solve your date problem!"

“Rich, what the hell—"

“Later, dude!"

By the time Jeremy had gotten out of his own head enough to start walking home, Rich was long out of sight. He was so preoccupied with thoughts of _Michael_ and _prom_ that he never even realized that Rich had conveniently steered the conversation away from Rich and Jake and toward himself and Michael.

As Jeremy walked home, Jeremy couldn’t help but mull their conversation over. Weirdly, Michael turned out to be the most obvious person to ask out to prom. Michael was his best friend, and all the times they had gone stag together to homecomings had always been fun. What would the difference be? It’d be exactly the same.

Except for the couple’s entrance seniors are required to do as they enter.

And the official prom photos.

And, well, _everything_.

People would talk about them. Jeremy knew he’d constantly be looking around at the other people, because what if they got the wrong impression? What if they thought that he and Michael were there as a real couple? That they were _dating_?

A small voice in his head—his own voice—immediately wondered if that’d be such a bad thing to have people think.

Sure, Jeremy’s newer friends were great, and they really understood him, but his friendship with Michael was so much deeper than any of his other friendships. Their friendship was scraped knees and swing sets, video games and chewing gum. It was the most steady thing in Jeremy Heere’s life, and he could help but smile at some of the memories that crept into his mind.

Standing in front of his house, Jeremy froze suddenly. Yeah, Michael had always been his favorite person, even when he was crazy about Christine. Michael was his best friend, and he loved him like a brother.

But could Jeremy love him in a different way?

If Jeremy knew one thing, it was that he wasn’t gay. He was able to tell himself that as he quickly made his way inside and up to his room. There was no denying that he liked girls. And he’s never been sexually attracted to guys . . . had he?

The memory of the time Michael slept over and shared his bed the summer after eighth grade popped back into his head. The air conditioner had been broken, so both boys had stripped down to their boxers to try and beat the heat. Laying in bed together, feeling the heat radiating off of Michael’s almost naked body and often brushing against each other had gone right to his groin.

Being in boxers, it was impossible to hide it for long. But Michael had brushed the incident off, saying that it happens to dudes all the time, that it’s the body’s natural reaction. Hell, he’d even said he’d been half-hard for at least ten minutes and that Jeremy shouldn’t sweat it.

Jeremy had always liked Michael for his personality and who he is. He could admit to himself that he liked how Michael made him feel, too. But the more he thought about it, the more he considered that maybe it wasn't just the heat and the proximity that made him so flustered that night. Maybe there was at least one night where he had been sexually attracted to a boy.

And maybe, on some subconscious level, that hadn't ever really gone away.

Flopping onto his bed, Jeremy hadn’t thought of that day in a long time, but now, laying on his bed where it had happened, he thought that maybe it was time he examined those thoughts and feelings more.

If Rich was just now coming into his own and exploring his possibilities, maybe Jeremy owed it to himself to do the same.


	3. Two Player Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Each player has grabbed the controls. But will they finish the game together, or will one get completely derailed before he even begins?

Three days after talking to Rich about asking Jeremy to the prom, Michael still had no idea how he was going to do it. Or—if he was being honest with himself—if he was even going to do it at all.

It’s not that he _wouldn’t_ want to go to prom with Jeremy. Hell, they’d been to all their homecoming dances together, so it wasn’t completely different. Except, in so many ways, it was. Prom was what you were supposed to remember for years to come. The one you were supposed to look back on fondly, to look back decades later and laugh about what you all wore. To look back and smile at the memories you had with your date.

If John Hughes movies had taught Michael anything, it was that adults suck and prom is the epitome of your high school experience.

And Michael couldn’t deny that he wanted all of those memories with Jeremy by his side.

As the last bell of the school week rang, interrupting his thoughts of Jeremy and prom, Michael grabbed his backpack and quickly made a beeline for the door. Heading out into the hall as students flooded into of the classrooms, he slipped his headphones on and headed to his locker. All Michael wanted was to get his shit, meet Jeremy outside by his PT Cruiser, and go home and play some video games with his Player 2. Maybe they’d smoke some weed. That’s all he wanted: a nice, simple Friday night chilling with his best friend, nothing out of the ordinary.

So, of fucking course, Rich came out of nowhere to ruin that.

“Yo, Mikey!” he called, slinging an arm around his shoulders as Michael was getting the last of his textbooks from his locker.

“Hey, Rich,” Michael said, pulling his headphones off. Maybe he could get his stuff and leave before—

“Soooo? Did you ask Jere yet?"

Or not.

Michael grimaced. “Well, uh . . ."

“Yeah, I thought not."

“Have you asked Jake?” Michael shot back.

“Shut the fuck up, this isn’t about—"

“Asked me what?"

If Rich were a cartoon, he would have screeched. As it was, Rich spun so hard that he slammed his shoulder right into the lockers as he realized that Jake had come to stand just behind them right when Michael had mentioned his name.

“ _Fuck_ , Jake,” Rich wheezed at a notably high pitch. Michael stifled a laugh at Rich’s choice of words.

“I’m just gonna head out,” Michael said, quickly slipping out of Rich’s reach and leaving him to figure out his romantic problems for himself.

“Later, Michael,” Jake replied cheerfully, completely oblivious to Rich’s death glare aimed directly at Michael.

Chuckling under his breath, Michael shook his head as he finally headed out to his car. It was only a couple minutes later that he saw his best friend waving over to him from beside his car.

"Michael!"

Smiling, Michael waved back before pressing the button on his key ring to unlock the car. "Hey, buddy, how's it hanging?"

"Eh, pretty okay. Got a D on the chemistry test, though. You?

“Got a C," Michael answered as he got in the car. "I thought you were going to study the past few days?"

"Well, uh, I . . . yeeeaaah."

Glancing over at his friend as he drove, Michael could see that Jeremy was biting his nails and blushing.

“Dude, don’t tell you spent the time watching porn instead of studying,” Michael said, shooting Jeremy a knowing look.

Jeremy sputtered, which was all the answer Michael needed.

“Hey, man. I’m not judging, we’ve all been there. I’m just saying."

“Dude, I— uh, I mean . . .” Jeremy rolled his eyes, turning to look out the window. “Well, yeah, I did. But that wasn’t all I did. Obviously."

Michael swallowed the lump in his throat. It wasn’t the first time in their friendship that their conversations had led to him imagining what Jeremy was doing when he was alone. “Yeah, I _bet_ it wasn’t all you were doing,” he said, maintaining a light and casual tone.

“ _Dude_ ,” Jeremy whined, dragging a hand over his face. “I mean, _obviously_. I’m not just gonna watch porn and not get off. But I meant I didn’t _just_ watch porn and jerk off. Obviously."

“Obviously,” the other teenager repeated with a nod.

The rest of the ride to Michael’s passed uneventfully. Within ten minutes, the two were in Michael’s basement with sodas and chips, figuring out which game to play. Michael noted, as he always did, that Jeremy still refused to drink Mountain Dew in case it were to reactivate his Squip.

“So, uh, Chloe and Brooke were talking about prom the other day,” Jeremy offered out of nowhere as they settled in on the couch.

“Okay, and? When _aren’t_ they talking about prom?"

Jeremy snorted out a laugh. “Yeah, okay, fair point."

“Well?"

“Huh?"

“What were they saying about it?"

“Oh, right. They, uh . . .” Here Jeremy trailed off, trying to figure out where the hell he was trying to go with this. “They were just . . . talking about who was going with who and shit, I guess."

“Fascinating,” Michael deadpanned, turning to the bag of chips with more interest than he had in the affairs of Jeremy’s friends.

“Yeah,” Jeremy continued, pretending not to notice Michael’s indifference. “Apparently, Madeline’s going with Dustin Kropp."

“Yeah, _she_ asked him."

“Wait, what? How’d you know?"

“She asked him during study hall one day while Rich and I were in the library near them. It was awkward as fuck, dude."

Jeremy could only imagine.

“Speaking of Rich,” Michael said, rubbing his hands on his thighs before shoving them in his hoodie pocket. “He, uh . . . he kinda asked me to prom?"

“Holy shit, dude, what the fuck?"

“Yeah."

“Wait, is Rich the person you’ve been crushing on? Crap, is _that_ why you wouldn’t say—"

“Jere, calm down, dude. He’s not the dude I have a crush on."

“Oh. So . . . it’s a guy that you like, then? You definitely like guys?"

Ah, shit.

“Uh, yeah. It’s, uh, it's definitely a dude. That I like. In that way.” Michael cringed. That was way less smooth than it could have been.

“Well, that’s . . . cool? I mean, that’s . . . good."

Michael couldn’t help but smile softly at his friend as he tried to say the right thing. Considering that Michael had never really properly come out to his best friend, it could have gone worse. It was something that was just always there, but never discussed. But this? This was . . . okay. Michael could work with ‘good.’

"Anyway, Rich wasn’t even really asking me to prom. He was just, I dunno, making more of an offer? In case the guy I like doesn’t want to go with me, I mean."

_So I don’t have to go alone without you._

“Besides, Rich likes someone else,” Michael added quickly.

“Oh,” was all Jeremy said. Then, “So . . . are you going to ask the guy out to prom?"

There weren’t enough words in the goddamn dictionary to describe how much Michael was dying on the inside by this point. Trying not to cringe again, Michael looked over at Jeremy for a long moment.

“I don’t know."

“But you want to?” Jeremy pushed.

Swallowing thickly and looking away, Michael nodded.

“But you’re scared to,” Jeremy said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Michael nodded again.

“Michael. Hey, dude. Look at me."

Turning back to his best friend, Michael realized that Jeremy had scooted even closer to him on the couch. He was actually incredibly close now.

Close enough to kiss, Michael’s mind thought traitorously.

“You know you can tell me anything, man. That’s what a best friend’s for."

And there it was: _best friend_. Those two words did make Michael cringe and look away.

“Jere . . .” His voice wobbling, Michael continued. “I don’t think I could tell him. Not now. What if it fucks everything up? What if I push him away?"

Jeremy looked at his best friend, saw how unsure and scared he looked. Jeremy mulled over his mixed feelings and emotions from the past few days and thought that, just maybe, Michael was fighting the same mixed and messy emotions, too.

Reaching out to softly put his hand on his best friend’s face, Jeremy softly turned his best friend’s face to his own. Michael’s eyes were wide as they unintentionally flicked to Jeremy’s own and down to where Jeremy was biting his lower lip.

“Michael, it’s okay."

A moment passed between the boys before Michael surged forward, capturing Jeremy’s lips with his own. Jeremy let out a small sound of surprise, his eyes going wide even as Michael’s closed. The kiss only lasted a moment, and it was awkward; Jeremy’s lips were chapped and limp, unsure of what to do. Michael’s lips were saliva-slick and pushing hard against Jeremy’s at an angle that crushed their noses between them.

Backing off, Michael’s eyes opened and he immediately regretted his action.

“Oh, God, Jeremy, I didn’t even ask, holy shit, I’m so sorry—"

“No, no, it’s . . . fine,” Jeremy said, flustered and blushing. His hand still rested at Michael’s jaw, and he began to trace it with his thumb. “I . . . liked it, I think. Or, I _could_ like it.” Jeremy sighed, suddenly standing up and crossing the room, arms crossed.

Michael’s face felt the loss of the other boy’s hand like a bucket of cold water.

“Listen, I’ve been thinking about . . . things,” Jeremy began, pacing and looking at everything in the room but Michael. “You. Me. Us. Like, sexually. Ugh, God, what am I even saying?"

To be honest, Michael was having a hard time processing it himself, mostly because his brain had completely short-circuited by this point.

“Okay, so do you remember that night one summer when you spent the night at my house and the AC was broken?” Jeremy said, finally looking at Michael. “Do you remember what happened?"

“Jesus, Jere, how could I forget?” Seeing the other boy flinch, Michael stood up and crossed the room to him. “No, I mean it in a good way. I, uh . . . I may have been lying about only being half hard. And when I got up to go to the bathroom, I totally jerked off."

“Fuck."

Michael grinned at Jeremy’s shocked face and shrugged. “What can I say? I liked what I saw. I really, really liked what I saw,” he said, lowering his voice and stepping even closer. “I still do."

“R-really?"

“Yeah,” Michael said, slowly reaching a hand to rest it on the other boy’s hip. “I guess you don’t have to guess who I wanted to ask to prom, huh?"

“Michael. I—I’m still not sure . . . I really think I want this,” Jeremy said, leaning forward to rest his forehead against Michael’s. “I just don’t know my own feelings yet. But this? This feels good."

“That’s okay, we don’t have to do anything you don’t want,” Michael reassured the other boy. “I’m pretty sure that’s what going on dates are for. So? Wanna go to prom with me?"

“As your date?"

“As my date,” Michael said with a grin.

Jeremy couldn’t help but grin back. “Awesome."

Michael couldn’t help himself; wrapping his arms around the more gangly teen, he pulled Jeremy in for a hug as they kept their foreheads together. As soon as he did, though, Jeremy pulled back with a sharp intake of breath. And Michael had felt why.

“Sorry, it’s just . . .” Jeremy blushed, waving awkwardly at his lower half. “You saying that you had jerked off after the boxers thing just . . ."

“Yeah, well, you’re not the only one, Jere,” Michael replied with a laugh as Jeremy blushed even harder.

The two made their way back to the couch and sat closer than before. After a few moments, Jeremy wound his fingers around Michael’s and slid down to rest his head on the other’s shoulder with a small, contented hum.

Looking down at the brunet leaning against him, Michael felt like he could happily take this new thing between them at any pace Jeremy wanted to if it made Jeremy this relaxed and happy.

Feeling the warmth radiating from Michael’s shoulder against his cheek, Jeremy wasn’t sure what to think of this development except that, somehow, it felt natural. It felt right, somehow.

In that moment, this was . . . good.

They could do good.

**Author's Note:**

> AAAHHHH IT'S DONE!!!
> 
> This was written for [Gavin](http://drakeadler.tumblr.com) over on tumblr for the [Boyf Riends 2017 Secret Santa](https://boyfriendssecretsanta.tumblr.com)! The prompt was: "ANGST, either of the boys being comforted by the other. That or something surrounding an out of the blue kiss!" I, uh, don't often write angst, so I channeled it into general teenage angst emotions instead of one specific angsty incident. I hope that's ok and that you're satisfied with it! In the end, they both comfort one another and there IS a surprise kiss (well, a surprise for Jeremy, at any rate).
> 
> I loved writing this ~~even if it is late~~. There might even be a spin-off with Rich following his experience during this timeline, leading up to him asking Jake to the prom! Or maybe they'll be a sequel about the prom itself! I just really loved writing this and dang, it go so much longer than I intended it to be. For now, I'm gonna say it's part of a series because I really want to write those other fics, especially the Rich one-shot.
> 
>  
> 
> [Reblogable link on my tumblr right here.](http://seanfmcguire.tumblr.com/post/169121011977/the-boyf-riend-that-id-kinda-be-into-chapter-1)
> 
>  
> 
> SOME THINGS OF NOTE:  
> • The gum wrapper catalyst of this fic was inspired by [this prompt](http://aeolians.tumblr.com/post/168791534190/otpprompts-high-school-or-college-person-a-asks).  
> • Lemon Demon is the solo band by the same guy who made Potter Puppet Pals. His music is weird but insanely catchy. I saw a post on tumblr that headcanoned that Jeremy introduced Michael to Lemon Demon, and this fic was written mostly listening to Lemon Demon's _Spirit Phone_ album and the song _The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny_ from an earlier album on Spotify. Check it out Lemon Demon [here](https://open.spotify.com/artist/4llAOeA6kEF4ytaB2fsmcW).  
>  • If you know your musicals, you might have gotten a chuckle out of the librarian being named _Miss Paroo_.  
>  • Why yes, I totally made use of Joe Tracz saying 'Rich would ask Michael to prom' in the most round-about way possible, but here you go. I like to think that Rich thinks he has no shot with Jake, and he _does_ like Michael as a friend. So, like any teenaged guy who likes guys, he'd be willing to settle for a guy he knows he might have a shot with rather than possibly destroying his best friendship. (That's a feeling Michael understands all too well.)  
>  • The “Telephone, telegraph, tele-Chloe,” joke in chapter two is 100% lifted from [this recent Mark Hamill joke](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krHwUKp0CWE) about how if you wanted everyone to know some info right away, you'd just tell Carrie Fisher that the info was confidential. It was too perfect for the moment and for Rich to not use. So, thanks, Mark Hamill.  
> • This fic was written by one popular Jeremy Heere cosplayer for another popular Jeremy Heere cosplayer. Like, how does that even happen?? And Gavin has a _killer_ Jakey D cosplay, too. And even a rad modern Grantaire . . . which is funny, since I do a modern punk Enjolras. GAVIN IS JUST GREAT, Y'ALL SHOULD CHECK OUT HIS INSTAGRAM RIGHT OVER [HERE](https://www.instagram.com/dameroncosplay/)


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